


humiliating.

by lawyerdonut



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Arkham (Video Games), DC Extended Universe
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Autistic Edward Nygma, Canon Compliant, Gen, rewrite of the gotham city stories from arkham knight, uhhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:41:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27704294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lawyerdonut/pseuds/lawyerdonut
Summary: It’s the only word Ed can think of, staring at his email inbox full of hundreds of emails belittling and berating him for attempting to impugn the Bat. He can’t seem to move, stuck to the spot as he reads each and every subject line. Tears prick at the backs of his eyes.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	humiliating.

_ Humiliating. _

It’s the only word Ed can think of, staring at his email inbox full of hundreds of emails belittling and berating him for attempting to impugn the Bat. He can’t seem to move, stuck to the spot as he reads each and every subject line. Tears prick at the backs of his eyes. The emails blur together; he picks one at random to read, wallowing in his own self hatred.

_ You don’t seem to be the brightest person, going after the only person in the city keeping us safe. Batman was the one who saved us from Joker.  _

_ Seriously, you have to be a different breed of stupid to try to get Gotham to turn against him. _

Eddie yells, pained and angry, and swipes his arm across the desk in a fury. His keyboard and mouse clatter to the ground, and he rips his CPU tower from the outlet, throwing it against the wall. A tear runs down his cheek.

“You…” he says, to nobody in particular, as he swipes it from his face. Eddie halts, staring at his trembling hands.

A pressure in his chest makes it hard to breathe. He can’t stop thinking about all those emails, all those people, thinking he’s  _ stupid _ . His fists clench and he lets out a noise, somewhere between a yell and a cry. Knees hit the floor of his room, hands in his hair and he can’t stop crying. The seams in his gloves suddenly seem like they’re digging into his skin. Violently ripping them off, Ed braces his hands on either side of his head and slumps to the ground.

An indeterminate amount of time passes, and the tears have stopped beyond an occasional sniffle. Eyes sore, Ed sits up and blankly stares at the broken casing of his computer. He reaches over and plugs it back in, silently willing it to come back to life. It doesn’t. Slowly, he unplugs it from the wall and emotionlessly peels back the case, peering inside.

The power supply is disconnected from the main board, and several capacitors had broken clean off. Ed fishes his hand inside the case and picks up the broken parts.

He stands slowly, leaning on his desk and putting the capacitors in his pocket. Out of the corner of his eye, a blue light blinks slowly. Eddie’s phone. Should he even check it, or is it going to be another mean-spirited email from an angry Bat fanboy?

But what if it wasn’t?

Reluctantly, he unlocks his phone and reads the notification.

_ To the owner of Enigmatic Holdings Ltd., Gotham City Council hereby APPROVES your purchase of the disused sewerage and water processing facilities beneath the city… _

He reads it again, eyes wide. A disbelieving smile spreads across his face as he reads it over and over again.

Suddenly, the hundred other emails in his inbox don’t seem so important. Eddie pulls his gloves back on and rifles through his desk for his notebook.

This time will be different.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!


End file.
